Mentor Capital reports that, following the election, overnight, the population in states where recreational cannabis use is legal increased from 17.6 million to 67.5 million. California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada joined Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia as new safe havens for cannabis use by adults when in compliance with their respective state laws. This rising tide was further buttressed by the approval of medical marijuana use in Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas with a combined population of 22.6 million. 29 states now allow recreational cannabis or medical marijuana use covering the majority of the US population.

Is Big Weed on the way? Now that California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts have legalized recreational marijuana, investors should expect the explosion of a major new industry which could have a major economic impact on America.

One main reason why the potential in recreational marijuana is so great is that, until Colorado and Washington legalized cannabis in 2012 (Oregon and Alaska legalized it later), there was no legitimate industry in the country to speak of. By virtue of being legalized — and in particularly in a state as large, and with as vibrant an agricultural sector, as California — the recreational marijuana industry has now created a solid foundation for itself and its own ground floor.

I’m a venture capitalist and a medical cannabis user.

The first time I tried medical cannabis, I had just tried to trigger a chronic condition that causes severe intestinal pain when I eat.

I was trying to force my doctor to prescribe painkillers for me. That night, I’d eaten an entire pizza to induce enough pain to get me on drugs. I wound up trying medical marijuana instead and it changed my perspective on the drug.

Growing up, I never imagined I would be here.

California is celebrating its first ever tax exempt sales of medical marijuana. The new law, which took effect at midnight, exempts patients with county issued identification cards from paying sales tax.

The Board of Equalization surprised dispensaries and pundits alike last week, issuing their interpretation that certain sales would become tax-exempt under this new law. Patients have much to be happy for today, but the potential to save 9.5% in sales tax on each transaction is of top importance.

When California voters approved Proposition 64 on Tuesday, the basic idea was simple: a majority of people in America’s most populous state believe that adults should be able to consume marijuana if they feel like it, like a glass of wine at 5 o’clock. But the details of the proposition, which stretches more than 60 pages, are complicated.

TIME spoke to Amanda Reiman, the Drug Policy Alliance’s manager of marijuana law and policy, to talk about what people should know.

What happened on Tuesday?

Innovative Industrial Properties could help investors grab a slice of real estate used for the growing of legal marijuana crops.

A newly formed California real estate company has filed paperwork for an IPO that would make it the first marijuana business publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Innovative Industrial Properties (IPP), formed in June 2016, operates in an area that could provide the best place to consider for investors interested in getting a piece of the growing marijuana industry: real estate.

Voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 64, making California the most populous state in the nation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

The approval of the ballot measure creates the largest market for marijuana products in the U.S. It comes six years after California voters narrowly rejected a similar measure. Activists said passage would be an important moment in a fight for marijuana legalization across the U.S.

“We are very excited that citizens of California voted to end the failed policy of marijuana prohibition," said Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Assn. "Proposition 64 will allow California to take its rightful place as the center of cannabis innovation, research and development.” 

Buying and selling greenhouses in the Salinas Valley was never going to be the stuff of a reality TV show. But it was a good, quiet living for commercial Realtor Chuck Allen.

Then marijuana came to the valley. Now, agricultural real estate is booming.

The largely empty greenhouses where flowers once were grown are fetching multimillion-dollar prices, and Allen, 76, is raking in commissions bigger than many people’s annual salary. A couple of weeks ago, he closed on a $2.6-million deal that netted him $78,000. 

“It’s kinda fun, actually,” said Allen, who works for Keller Williams. “A year ago, I didn’t even know what it looked like. I thought they were Christmas trees.”

I’m a venture capitalist and a medical cannabis user.

The first time I tried medical cannabis, I had just tried to trigger a chronic condition that causes severe intestinal pain when I eat.

I was trying to force my doctor to prescribe painkillers for me. That night, I’d eaten an entire pizza to induce enough pain to get me on drugs. I wound up trying medical marijuana instead and it changed my perspective on the drug.

Growing up, I never imagined I would be here.

The results of today's marijuana legalization ballot initiatives will set the stage for the next four years of American drug policy. If California and a number of other states legalize the recreational use of the drug, many observers, including President Obama, say that a strict federal pot prohibition could soon become untenable.